


Amongst the Stars Once More

by Perpetual_Screaming



Series: Shenanigans at Plumview [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Birthday, Gen, Stars, Surreal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-12-27 02:45:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18295262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perpetual_Screaming/pseuds/Perpetual_Screaming
Summary: Yuliana just wants to find that special place.





	Amongst the Stars Once More

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I did for Yuliana's birthday - March 11th. This oc is a year old now, and I just felt the need to celebrate that with a short fic!

Yuliana wasn’t exactly sure how she had gotten to the sidewalk in front of her apartment building. 

All she knew was what she could see. And what she could see was a vast night sky above her head, impossibly dark contrasted by impossibly-bright stars. It was as if the light pollution in her town had forgotten to exist, allowing the pure beauty of the natural universe to pan over her world. 

The late-winter, not-quite-spring, March air was chilly, not in an intimidating way; it was more like October air, which felt like a cool break from the previous summer’s heat, and promised the coming of fall festivals, haunted attractions, and pumpkin-carving. Though this differed in that it signaled the end of a bone-cold winter, and gave knowledge that the warm spring weather was once again on the horizon. 

Yuliana wasn’t certain how long the other person had been there, or if they had just now appeared. But they were there now, and their presence absorbed all of Yuliana’s attention, away from the sky and the air and the noises, seemingly natural but at the same time nonexistant. It was as if the stranger seemed to glow, despite the fact they were not glowing. They simply enraptured her gaze, as if that person was the only thing there was to look at, the only thing that existed. 

Their appearance was not something that could be perceived in the natural sense. It was like they were constantly shifting; at one moment, Yuliana could almost picture long blonde hair, but it was  _actually_ short and brown. But no, it was red. But no, it was black. Their eyes seemed to be absent of color, and yet full of it at the same time. It was impossible to tell. Perhaps the person’s frame was thin and lithe, perhaps it was built and stocky. Yuliana just couldn’t figure it out, but it also felt as though figuring it out didn’t matter. The person existed, and didn’t exist, yet commanded attention as though they were a politician about to give an important speech. 

“But I never believed in God.” The words left her mouth before she could even process them.

A warm, accepting gaze from the person in front of her. “You never needed to.”

Her head swam, nothing quite registering but at the same time, it was perfect clarity. “ _Are_ you God?”

Warmth and acceptance shifted into amusement, revealed by a slight smirk. “If that’s what you decide to believe.” The presence’s voice had no specific trait to define it; it simply  _was_ , the words and their meaning delivered to Yuliana in the language she understood.

A moment of silence passed, one that could have stretched through eternity, or perhaps just a fraction of a second. 

The person offered a hand. 

“A gift, from me to you.” They said simply. 

Hesitant, Yuliana carefully placed her own hand in the other’s. It was warm, mild, indistinct, and yet was the only hand in the world. Upon touching it, the chilly air seemed to morph around her, changing into pleasant warmth. It was as if spring had arrived at last, in the span of a second. 

The long winter coat that had been carefully wrapped around her body disappeared in that moment, replaced with her favorite summer dress, the one that she never wore because she couldn’t be bothered to go outside in the warm months. Light and breezy, it promised freedom and carefree movement, ease. Simplicity. 

Before Yuliana could ponder what had happened, or what was to happen next, her hand was suddenly tugged. It was a gentle action, much like guiding a balloon through air, or a float through water. And that was exactly how she felt then: a balloon, a float. She drifted after the presence, feet no longer firmly attached to the ground in what people typically perceived as the work of gravity. 

Slowly, carefully, the world sank beneath her. She was walking, it seemed, towards the very sky that sparkled with all of those bright, bright stars, but it didn’t feel so stiff and natural. The motions were there, but she was still a balloon, floating after that one still grasping her hand. Where her feet landed, little white pinpricks cushioned her. It was as if an invisible cloud was there every step of the way, made of tiny stars that only appeared when the tips of her toes blessed them.

The town beneath her was gone. Not  _really_ gone, but insignificant. All that mattered was the speckled darkness enveloping her, the steady movements bringing her ever forward, and the kind, comforting soul ahead, orchestrating it all. 

Now, their features began to take on the appearance of people who were familiar to her. One glimpse showed a long, blonde braid, another showed those motherly lavender waves. A brown ponytail, then a silver one, then black hair, then caramel-blonde. When they turned around to grace Yuliana with a smile, they showed eyes that were sky-blue and promised comfort, eyes of green that showed kindness. Playful amber, mischievous grey. Hazel eyes that spoke of untold fondness.

Surrounded by the stars, on a road to faraway galaxies she could only dream of, Yuliana felt peace. Truly, this was the perfect existence. 

This was the place she belonged.

She opened her eyes to sunlight falling through the curtains of her bedroom window. 

It was a dream. Of course it was.

She went through the normal motions of her day, because it  _was_ a normal day. She got up, dressed herself, and went to classes, just like she always did. Sat through lectures, took notes. Checked her phone occasionally, to find her notifications silent. 

It was normal. It was boring. It was as if her journey amongst the stars never happened, because it didn’t. It was only a dream, unfinished, because such illusions always are.

It was late afternoon when she arrived at her apartment building, the sun just beginning to make its descent below the horizon. The March air was chilly, and growing more so by the minute. She walked along the sidewalk, past the spot where she didn’t meet that mysterious person. Where she didn’t lift off of the ground, where she didn’t experience that feeling of comfort and serenity. 

The door seemed to unlock a lot easier today, than it usually did.

The lights were on. She would have pondered whether she had left them on before leaving, but before she could, ten different heads popped out of various hiding spots, with cone-shaped hats strapped to them. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY,  _YULA!_ ”

She froze, and her bag slipped to the floor.

They all looked happy to see her. There was Ellie in her long blonde braid, all innocence and smiles. Brooke, a little bit of cake batter caught in her short lavender hair. Christopher in his dark and brooding demeanor, green eyes revealing his true kindness underneath. Even Spencer couldn’t truly hide her excitement, the smallest of smirks playing at the corner of her lips.

All of her friends were here, overjoyed to remind her what day it was, that which she had completely forgotten.

And Yuliana was amongst the stars once more.


End file.
